


A Reason, A Season, A Lifetime

by BlackVelvet42



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut, Games, Implied Sexual Content, Long Hair Fetish, Love Confessions, Romance, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 21:46:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10773084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackVelvet42/pseuds/BlackVelvet42
Summary: “And she had thought this game was safe. That he was safe.”





	A Reason, A Season, A Lifetime

"You practically robbed me of my weekly rations for all that extra coffee, Kathryn," Chakotay reminded her as she stood up, taking their plates. She sighed happily at the memory. Indeed she had. Five days she'd spent on a caffeine high, indulging in as many cups a day as her heart desired. Life had been so good.

"And you certainly had fun handing over to me all your routine tasks," he went on, amused by her girlish delight. Nothing to deny there. Routines made her sleepy. He didn't appear too burdened by them, though. Maybe there was some way to transfer those duties to him permanently?

"And the foot massage didn't seem too bad either," he ended the list, watching her closely. She gave him a devilish grin. He'd left out some precious details. Like the time she had let him single-handedly manage the negotiations with a species so rigid, they needed ten hours just to decide where they would meet. And the maintenance scraping of the plasma conduits still made her smile. Retrospectively, that might have been slightly excessive. Nevertheless, he had been so good-tempered, enduring all her whims without one complaint.

The massage was another thing entirely. An impulsive idea on her part, but he had turned it into a delightful surprise after dinner as he had steered her to the couch, poured her more wine, and peeled off her socks. He had handled her toes, arches and heels with skill, all the way up her ankles and calves, as far as he reached. And she had closed her eyes and allowed herself for one moment to forget who she was, who he was, hoping she was wearing a dress instead of her uniform pants and that he would not stop at her knee. A definite breach of protocol, but an exception to a rule couldn't hurt, could it? She'd just have to be more careful in the future.

"This time I won and this is my prize," he concluded. Their latest pastime of guessing various details of the next approaching star system had been harmless and very profitable for her. His few requests so far had been minor, polite. Some additional time on the holodeck, lunch together planet side. She, however, had not been coy with her demands.

"But why this? Why would you ask for this?" she insisted, pacing around the room. His proposition was unexpected and made her nervous for a reason she couldn't quite put her finger on. It was personal, sure, but still rather ordinary, trivial.

"I fail to see how it's that much different from the massage," he sighed, leaning back on the couch, trying to cool down a situation that was growing out of proportion. Maybe she was being paranoid. Or a bad loser. Neither alternative felt particularly flattering.

"You want to take down my hair. But why? You've seen it hang freely many times on more or less every casual occasion there's been," she asked for the third time, folding her arms defensively. His tone had been light and matter-of-fact but she sensed there was something more, it meant something more to him.

"Kathryn, if this doesn't feel right, it's ok. I'll just settle for your coffee rations then." He gave her a full dimpled grin, knowing very well he was hitting her weak spot.

"Oh, no you won't!" she snapped back. So maybe she was making too much of his weird request. Taking out the pins took about ten seconds, how much easier could a payment get? "Fine, whatever, undo me." She didn't just say that? His eyes flickered, but he let her comment pass.

"You have any plans for the rest of the evening?" he asked lightly, getting up and moving closer.

"No, not really, just... what? Are we doing this now?" she wavered, expecting she would have more time to ready herself. His expression was soft but resolute, and there was something predatory in his moves. At that moment she knew she had made a huge error in judgment.

"Yes, now, Kathryn." He took another step until he was standing right in front of her. Well within her personal space, as close as he could without touching her. And his presence filled her entire world.

She should have backed off, cancel the deal, let him have the rations. But her stubborn pride was in the way, she simply didn't want to chicken out, no matter how strongly it was beginning to feel like this was a very bad idea. And there was a twinkle of a smirk in the corner of his mouth as if he knew this.

He started from her wrists, slowly trailing up her arms, taking his time to feel her through the thick fabric. A shiver moved along her spine, his touch affecting her, as it always did, and she lowered her eyes to conceal her growing uncertainty. This was definitely going to take longer than ten seconds. Dryly, she thought he wasn’t anywhere near her hair, but then again, she'd made him eat Neelix's cooking for a week just so she could saturate herself with coffee. Perhaps it was reasonable to allow this detour.

She listened to his soft breathing, her thoughts drifting to the heat radiating from him, wondering exactly how warm his skin would feel like. Kneading her shoulders, he leaned even closer and she tensed. He was certainly making the most out of this, cashing in big time, for this win and all the previous ones. And she had thought this game was safe. That he was safe.

He reached the point where her jacket, pips, and turtleneck ended and the first lingering touch on her bare skin sent a heady wave down to her core. Unprepared for the force and intimacy of this seemingly innocent act, her heart was suddenly racing, breathing shallow and uneven. Every inch of her was alert, focused on his dizzying masculinity that had up to this point always stayed at a comfortable distance, never compromising the well-defined boundaries of proper relations between a captain and first officer. Why, why did he have to defy those boundaries now?

She couldn't stop the trembling and cursed thoroughly inside her head. Him for taking advantage, herself for this complete lack of self-control, and the whole damn quadrant for making even the simplest things so complex. He went on, massaging lightly up the sides of her neck, combing his fingers firmly through her hair with long, lavish strokes, turning her curses to silent moans of pleasure. Her eyelids fluttered against her will and there was a soft sound in her throat she didn't quite manage to stifle, thrown off-balance without the slightest idea how to gather herself again. 

Just when she thought she couldn’t endure another second, he eased his caress. Brushing her temples and the backs of her ears, his touch was more soothing than arousing. With the sharpest heat alleviating, she dared to lift her eyes. He was watching her intensely and didn’t evade her accusing stare. His gaze dropped to her lips and she instinctively licked them, a surge of desire mixed with panic sweeping through her. He wouldn't go that far as to try to kiss her, would he? And what would she do if he did try? But he made no such move and instead of relief she recognized a shadow of disappointment.

Finally, she felt his hands slide forward, hunting down the first pin and letting it drop to the floor. She held still, calming herself. This would all be over soon. One pin at a time he loosened her hair from the aching restraints, running his fingers through the tresses with gentle dedication. Consumed in his task, she could see his expression change slightly. His eyes growing darker, lips parting with his quickening breath, a faint flush rising to his cheeks. And her own treacherous body responding with equal arousal. In a dawning realization, she stared at him in shock. Whether he had meant it like that or not, she knew now exactly what this was. It was the equivalent of undressing her, a prelude to something absolutely forbidden. His eyes were feverish, in his mind he was already making love to her. And with so little stimulation, she was slick and pulsing, her body burning for him. How in the world did they end up here? At what point did she approve of this?

When the last pin came out and her hair fell down like an auburn waterfall, his eyes widened in helpless surrender, the lust giving way to something much more complicated. In one flash, all of his carefully hidden emotions were out in the open, raw and naked. What she saw confirmed everything she had suspected, but tried so hard to ignore. That she was beautiful to him in every sense of the word, the center of his existence, bringing him peace and meaning in life. And he wanted her, needed her, loved her with an unbearable intensity after years of pretense that he didn't.

In his eyes she saw a future, a lifetime stretching out before her as clear as if it had already happened. Days committed to a shared responsibility, side by side striving for a common goal. Nights soaked with passion, breathing each other, melting away any doubt, fear, sorrow, loneliness left inside. Their firstborn cradled, protected in his arms, and more if they were so blessed. A home with him, always, wherever in this universe they were. Bound together in this life and everything that might follow. Supporting, comforting one another through all the unknown that lay ahead until the day of her last breath. And even then, whispering forever, eyes locked in the same overwhelming emotion as now.

It could've been hours though it was probably only minutes until he released his hold of her. But the world had shifted profoundly and standing alone suddenly felt like an endless void. He backed away, bending his head quickly, but not quick enough for her not to witness on his face the same confusion and turmoil she felt. "Good night," his managed with a thick voice and headed for the door.

She'd always thought if this moment ever came she wouldn't know what to do. But the words came out without effort, without hesitation.

“No, don't go. Stay with me, please.”


End file.
